Div. One of the Fourth District Court of Appeal has affirmed the imposition of a $5,472 sanction on a federal prosecutor, in his private litigation, for seeking reconsideration of an order without showing “new or different facts, circumstances, or law,” as required by Code of Civil Procedure §1008—but rejected his theory that the timeliness of appealing the monetary penalty imposed under §128.7 opens the door to contesting earlier orders.

The State Bar of California recently published new findings showing measurable progress in reducing racial disparities in the attorney discipline system, building on key recommendations from a 2019 study: “Discrepancies by Race and Gender in Attorney Discipline by the State Bar of California: An Empirical Analysis.” The 2024 Attorney Discipline Disparities Study confirms that recent reforms are beginning to yield positive results.

(Subscription required) California's Supreme Court on Thursday disbarred a San Francisco attorney accused of defrauding the estate of an elderly client with advanced dementia. The court's unanimous order rejected as inadequate a State Bar Court Review Department's recommendation that Drexel Bradshaw's law license be suspended for six months for spending decisions he made as trustee for San Francisco resident Ora Gosey.

On Monday morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinions in Brown v. City of Inglewood and People v. North River Insurance Company. The court granted review in Brown in September 2023 and limited the issue to, “Are elected officials employees for purposes of whistleblower protection under Labor Code section 1102.5, subdivision (b)?”